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Lesson Plans
| Topic |
| Mill-Worker Simulation |
| Focus Question |
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Boundaries |
X
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Technology and Science |
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Natural Environment and People |
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Nongovernmental Groups |
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Cultures, Races and Ethnic Groups |
X
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Material Wants and Needs |
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Politics |
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Self-Expression |
| Era |
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Beginnings to 1623 |
Different Worlds Meet |
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1623-1763 |
Colonization and Settlement |
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1763-1820s |
Revolution and the New Nation |
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X
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1801-1861 |
Expansion and Reform |
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X
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1850-1877 |
Civil War and Reconstruction |
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X
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1870-1900 |
Development of the Industrial United States |
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X
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1890-1930 |
Emergence of Modern America |
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1929-1945 |
Great Depression and World War II |
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1945-early 1970s |
Postwar United States |
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1968-present |
Contemporary United States |
| Social Studies Standards |
| Economics 5, 6 |
| Grade Level |
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Elementary |
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High School |
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Middle/High School |
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Middle |
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Elementary/Middle |
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All |
| What Students Learn |
| By participating in a simulation, students better understand the
transition from a home-based agrarian economy to that of a factory economy with mass-produced goods. The "rounds"
of the simulation also will show students the general progress of labor relations during the 19th and early 20th
century.
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| Procedures |
In preparation for the simulation, teachers may wish to read "The
Setting," the opening chapter of Tamara Hareven and Randolph Langenbach's Amoskeag: Life and Work in an
American Factory-City (1-39). Also, either on their own or through a teacher read-aloud, students could become
acquainted with the lives of mill workers. "Anna Douville" (Hareven and Langenbach 283-291) is a selection
of a diary of an Amoskeag employee. Emily Arnold McCully's novel The Bobbin Girl and Katherine Paterson's
Lyddie also are recommended.
During the simulation, teachers may wish to play selections from Alex Demas's audiocassette Cottonmill Girls (e.g.,
"A Weaver's Life" during round two, "Cottonmill Girls" during round three, and "I Can
Not Be a Slave" during round four) and show reproductions of graphics depicting mill life in the 19th century.
Many visuals at the New Hampshire Historical Society's Tuck Library are available for reproduction.
Round 1
Ask a volunteer group of five "cottage-industry" students to craft placemats from beginning to end, as
follows:
In front of each home-based worker (sitting in his or her own seat) place a stack of recycled paper, a stapler,
and three crayons-blue, green, and yellow. Show the students a sample placemat having a yellow sun in the upper
left corner, a blue house in the center, and a green tree in the lower right corner. Instruct them to reproduce
the placemat using the materials they've been given and to fold and staple their mats for sale. The mats they produce
must be acceptable to their "client." Each worker works for himself or herself and is to be paid ten
tokens for each bundle of ten acceptable mats produced in a "work day" (approximately five minutes).
At the end of the work day, discuss workers' reactions to their working conditions and ways to make the process
more efficient. If someone suggests creating an assembly line, make that student the "overseer" for the
next round; otherwise appoint an overseer.
Round 2
Another volunteer group of five "factory worker" students is hired to work in a factory making placemats.
Seat workers in a line with a stack of recycled paper at one end. The first worker has a yellow crayon and is responsible
for drawing the sun in the upper left corner of each mat. Worker number two has a blue crayon and is responsible
for drawing the sun in the center of each mat. The third worker has a green crayon and is responsible for drawing
the tree in the lower right corner of each mat. Worker number four folds each mat, while the fifth worker staples
each mat for shipping.
The overseer must make sure the production line runs as fast as possible and that the quality of the mats is up
to standard. Workers who produce substandard mats are to be fired. (In the final round of play, the group may incur
a penalty if a worker needed to be fired.)
Workers are paid ten tokens for each bundle of mats accepted. Because they are working faster and more efficiently
than the "cottage-industry" group, their wealth is greater.
At the end of the round, students discuss their feelings about factory work and what is gained and what is lost
in the change from a cottage-industry economy.
Round 3
The "factory owner" (the teacher) informs workers that more placemat mills have opened and that the increased
competition means they must charge less in stores for each mat. In order to maintain profits, workers must increase
the number of mats per bundle to fifteen. They still receive ten tokens for each bundle. Also, the jobs of folder
and stapler are to be combined. The overseer determines whom to lay off.
At the end of the round, students again discuss their feelings: how do they feel about working for less money?
Are they worried that their job may be the next one to go?
Round 4
Inform the "workers" that due to their increased speed and production, too many mats are being produced
for sale. The demand for mats and the world price have decreased. Each group of workers must accept a 40% reduction
in pay: workers are to be paid six tokens for each bundle of fifteen mats accepted.
Again, follow up the round with a discussion period. Finally, determine the winner by counting the total wealth
tokens earned. Exchange wealth tokens for Tootsie Rolls™. Congratulate the winners: their jobs are spared as other
mills close and move south!
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Bibliography
Most entries listed below, as well as other teacher resources, are available through the New Hampshire Historical
Society's Tuck Library
and its museum
store.
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Demas, Alex. Cottonmill Girls [audiocassette]. CAP Productions,
1986.
Hareven, Tamara and Randolph Langenbach. Amoskeag: Life and Work in an American Factory-City. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1978.
McCully, Emily Arnold. The Bobbin Girl. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996.
Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie. London: Puffin, 1995.
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| Assessment Tools and Techniques |
| Students will create a rubric to express themselves in a journal
entry, poem, essay, or taped artistic performance. Their work will reflect upon their experiences, answering such
questions as the following: What was your life like before entering the mills? Would you prefer to go back to living
your life as it was on the farm? How has your life changed? What have you gained or lost?
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| Credit |
| This is an adaptation of a lesson created by Maura Parnin, a participant
in the New Hampshire Historical Society's 1999 Summer Institute for Teachers. |
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